Freedom at last
by twilight jackal
Summary: The final battle is won, but what is the price? A last fight will reveal a horrible truth. A bit dark. Creature fiction.
1. Chapter 1

Nothing is mine; all of this belongs to J., sadly. Just the idea is mine.

I hope you enjoy reading this and I would be delighted to receive reviews. My English is not the very best for it is not my native tongue. But enough about me, let the story unfold.

Freedom at last

Slowly the sun sunk behind the trees of the Forbidden Forest and the last golden shafts of sunlight colored the meadow of Hogwarts. But where normally everything was green and beautiful, where the kraken sprawled on the lakefront, were now just dark ground, the earth blood-soaked.

Everywhere on the Hogwarts grounds injured and dead persons. She looked around quickly, but there was no difference between the bodys. Who was Death eater, who warrior of the phoenix?

Her thoughts suddenly were disrupted by a curse.

Just minutes ago Voldemort was finally overwhelmed by Harry, Ron and the Headmaster. A few Death Eaters desperately fought, but the encouraged warriors of the light overran one by one.

Once more a curse missed her by mere millimeters. '_Thank god for my reflexes' _she thought to herself, sending a stream of hexes at her opponent. He became weaker with every second, the evasion maneuvers becoming more jerkily, not a quarter as good as in the beginning and for the first time she could see fear in his eyes. It would be not long 'til her victory.

There it was, the one moment of weakness she waited for. Her opponent staggered a mere second, but this was long enough for her to send one more curse on the way.

Just then he stood tall once more he saw the ropes flying at him, but it was too late. Bounded he fell to the grounds; it was no use to push against the hex. Kneeling next to him was his dueling partner, still in the dark cloak, not visible with robe and hood. Here he was, lying in the dirt at the Death eater's feet and was unable to move even his toes. So this was the glorious death he always imagined? Killed by the dark lord himself, that would have been something. But to die by the hand of a desperate Death Eater after the fall of their leader was mortifying .

He didn't pay attention to the wand, which was directed once more at him. '_What use is it anyway?'_ He had no chance to prepare himself for the massive waves of pain, inflicted by the whispered 'Crucio'. Even the dark lord hadn't witnessed what happened now. Severus Snape screamed under the curse like never before and his voice overlaid everything else.

Dumbledores Head jerked away from the mutilated body of Fenrir Grayback. Next to him Ron steadied Remus, who fought the other werewolf and had now multiple injuries. All of them glanced at the grounds to find the one person, which was in horrible pain. Then they found it, the whole phoenixgroup moved, Harry and the headmaster being the frontline, the spearhead of the light.

The nearer they came, the clearer became the scene before them. A person, writhed in pain, towering above a masked figure, which used the cruciatuscurse over and over again. In the short periods between the tortures the group could hear the pleading of the cursed one. 'Please, I beg you, no more, just kill me and finish my life. No, no, please, please not again.' A short slewing of the wand and the screaming started once more.

The phoenixes were shocked. All of them recognized the voice, normally filled with ice and sarcasm, now pleading for life and death. Snape, the hero of the war, the eternal spy, tortured for all the world to see. Wild rage seeping through the veins everyone cursed the unknown foe.

She had seen them a long time ago, but this was so much fun. '_Why is everyone interrupting me? Just when it's the most fun. What is this? Annoy-me-day?'_

It was quiet obvious for her, they just didn't understand the concept of "getting in line" or "waiting till it's your turn". No, all against one of course. She moved around the massive wave of hexes at the very last moment, torturing Snape as long as possible. The problem was, that she now had a wand trained at her. The potionsmaster had remembered his weapon and jinxed her, so that she was petrified apart from her head. There was no way to leave the degrading position.

She looked up and, her face still in the hoods shadows, stared into Snapes black eyes. 'I underestimated you, Snape.'

Like that the phoenixgroup found them, at last arriving at this last battle. Snape, still shaking madly from the curses, his wand fixed on a figure, which kneeled in front of him like he was a king, one knee touching the earth, the other bent under her.

The last warriors surrounded her, wands and grim faces turned to her. Harry stepped forward: 'Today no one will get away, who kneeled before Voldemort. And no one is allowed to harm the man, who made the fall of the Dark Lord possible.'

She just rolled her eyes. '_That a drivel. They should hurry up or they will be the ones receiving the shock of their lifes. _'

The savior of the wizarding world talked more, about the penalty for all Death Eaters, cowardice and the viciousness of the Dark Lord. It was obvious, that he had just warmed up for a speech. The considerable injured Lupin intercepted the hero after a few minutes. '_Thank merlin for small wonders.'_

'Let us teach him a lesson. Severus, what do you think?' Snape glared icily down on her. 'I would like to show her, what she cast upon me.'

All turned to Dumbledore to see his reaction. He recognized the hate in their faces and turned to the rest of the group. 'Go, tend to the injured. We will deal with this one.'


	2. Chapter 2

Once more: nothing is mine, everything's Rowling's. Have fun with the second part.

When the rest had gone, she only could see the figures of Lupin, Snape, Ron, Harry and Dumbledore. _, Perfect. They are just the right ones, the wretched fighters for the bright light. '_  
'If it was me standing before myself, I would hurry up. That is if you still want to punish me? Soon the moon will rise, and this day will end.'

Cold the voice rang out from the shadows under the cape and – could it possibly be – female. A woman, filled with such hatred? Firmly clutching the wand, Harry tore the hood off her head. At first they saw nothing but a curtain of brown, long hair, but then the woman lifted her face and looked at them.  
They gasped in horror and stepped back unconsciously. 'No, you can't' 'That's impossible' 'No'  
'Never' simultaneous the allegedly most powerful wizards in the world stammered incoherent sentences. With a cold smile, she looked at them.  
'Why, Miss Granger, why?' It was Snape, she turned her head slightly and looked at him pointedly, her lips twisted into a mocking grin. "Because I wanted and could."  
'But why' it was of course shell-shocked Harry-I-nerve-you-to-death-Potter.  
'You can't understand it? What I sought-after was acceptance, what I found was incredible power and freedom. Tell me, Severus Snape, serving under two masters, you must know it, the longing to be free. Harry, apart from Snape you have to understand best what it means not to be accepted for who you are. Every single person in the wizarding community judging you without knowing you. Finally power. Headmaster? Ron? That's a word you both now only too well. Oh, Remus, before I forget you, what about your freedom, maybe from your curse? To be, who you are and to do, what you want, being together with the person you want, without being afraid of laws? this is, what I found. I will not allow you to judge me.'  
Shocked to the core the wizards looked down to the brilliant witch. 'You have thrown Unforgivables at everyone. You have murdered and tortured, and you probably would have killed Snape if we weren't intervening? Who are you, Hermione, I thought we were friends and knew each other. '  
'Listen to me, Harry, and listen well. Of course I would have killed Snape. You have no idea how many people in this battle found their death in me, though I must say, Severus, our duel has been the most interesting of them all. The others were easily defeat, you've done well, although you'd probably realize yourself that you have no chance.'

She looked up at the Forbidden Forest, the first rays of the rising moon showing above the trees. 'Remus, before I forget about it. You should check on Tonks. I think she may met me at one time, but now she's just lying around.' It was that cold smile, which made the barrel overflow.  
All at once they shouted 'Crucio'. She screamed and her body wanted to twitch wildly, but was still held in place, because of Snapes jinx.  
As they lifted their curses, she breathed heavily and looked at them showing once more her cold smile.  
'You idiots. You wasted the time with meaningless games. But now it's too late.' As her last words were heard, a cloud drifted away and the now risen moon shone brightly above the Forbidden Forest and onto the grounds. The gentle light met her body and the five greatest warriors of the century were shocked to see the jinx falling from her as she rose and elegantly brushed back her hair, which was suddenly no longer brown and slightly curled, but black, straight and shiny. In the same moment leathery wings broke out of her back, her hands deformed, a claw on each fingertip. With half-folded wings she stood before them, and Hermione Granger opened her mouth in a snarl and it was this moment, that the wizards realized the grave danger. The long sharp fangs of the witch had pointed this one out dramatically.  
'You are mistaken. I am no supporter of Voldemort. I am my own master, I am free of all fetters, that could bound me to earth, and yes, I torture and kill, Harry, for it tastes so much better when they are panicked.'  
She gave Snape a very convincing smile. 'Severus, I'm sure you would have been the culmination, the absolute taste, if you had realized what a monster you had challenged. Too bad, I share rather reluctantly.'  
Before they could react, the vampire leapt into the air, unfolded her wings and glided away over the grounds. The Wizards began hurling curses and ran to follow her. None of them could see her grinning face. An idea began to form in her head.  
She made a sharp turn and flew quickly against the five fighters. An incision curse grazed her leg, but that was not a problem now. With a quick snatch she had the potionsmaster at his cloak and lifted him into the air. She – accidentally of course – dropped his wand in the process.  
Horrified, the remaining wizards were forced to watch as Snape was carried off by the vampiress Hermione. They immediately alerted the aurors, a large-scale search began, but without success. Severus Snape would be lost forever.  
High above them, sailing through the air, Hermione grinned. Yes, she was finally free; not long till she would be able to snuggle up in the arms of her beloved. For too long she was away from his castle, but Snape would be as perfect as a gift could be, just the right thing to celebrate their reunion with rivers of blood. What else was the reason the vampires developed the blood-replenishing potions? One wants his fun with the agony of the tiny people.  
With these happy thoughts and a screaming potions master in her grip she took on speed, after all, they didn't want to be on the road all night, didn't they.  
Count Dracula was on one of the many balconies of his castle and stared into the night when he spotted the figure flying fast to the castle. His sweetheart was returning to him. She flew in a circle above the balcony and dropped a man before she herself entered the descent, folding her wings halfway down and let herself be captured in his arms.  
Smiling coldly the reunited vampires looked down at their newest booty. 'How clever of you, sweetheart. The old ones are nearly empty, and this one looks tough from here. He will survive and ensure our safety for a long time.' In the arms of her beloved Hermione smiled at the prospect of their future.  
Yes, she had been looking for acceptance, but the count had given her so much more. Freedom, power and an eternal love.  
The Count took her to dinner, to start celebrating. The fresh blood was all they could have hoped for, yes, Severus Snape would be a good month, maybe even a year. She had made a good choice with him.  
Hermione Granger, the vampiress was finally at home and free.

I hope you liked it. Please review, it's always interesting to hear other opinions.


End file.
